Romano-British farmstead, 750m north-west of Grottington Farm

A Scheduled Monument in Wall, Northumberland

If Google Street View is available, the image is from the best available vantage point looking, if possible,
towards the location of the monument. Where it is not available, the satellite view is shown instead.

Details

The monument includes a farmstead of Romano-British date situated near the
edge of Redhouse Crag. The irregularly shaped farmstead exhibits two
contiguous enclosures contained within a strong rampart. It is best preserved
at the northern end where it is 1.2m high and 2.5m wide. The most northerly
enclosure is roughly 30m east-west by 15m north-south. The southern enclosure
is less well defined but measures roughly 35m east-west by 30m north-south;
within the southern enclosure there are the well preserved foundations of
three circular houses, each measuring 7m in diameter within a stone wall 2m
wide and standing to a maximum height of 0.8m.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

In Cumbria and Northumberland several distinctive types of native settlements
dating to the Roman period have been identified. The majority were small, non-
defensive, enclosed homesteads or farms. In many areas they were of stone
construction, although in the coastal lowlands timber-built variants were also
common. In much of Northumberland, especially in the Cheviots, the enclosures
were curvilinear in form. Further south a rectangular form was more common.
Elsewhere, especially near the Scottish border, another type occurs where the
settlement enclosure was `scooped' into the hillslope. Frequently the
enclosures reveal a regularity and similarity of internal layout. The standard
layout included one or more stone round-houses situated towards the rear of
the enclosure, facing the single entranceway. In front of the houses were
pathways and small enclosed yards. Homesteads normally had only one or two
houses, but larger enclosures could contain as many as six. At some sites the
settlement appears to have grown, often with houses spilling out of the main
enclosure and clustered around it. At these sites up to 30 houses may be
found. In the Cumbrian uplands the settlements were of less regimented form
and unenclosed clusters of houses of broadly contemporary date are also known.
These homesteads were being constructed and used by non-Roman natives
throughout the period of the Roman occupation. Their origins lie in settlement
forms developed before the arrival of the Romans. These homesteads are common
throughout the uplands where they frequently survive as well-preserved
earthworks. In lowland coastal areas they were also originally common,
although there they can frequently only be located through aerial photography.
All homestead sites which survive substantially intact will normally be
identified as nationally important.

The site north of Grottington survives well and is a good example of a small
farmstead containing stone houses. It is one of a group of native prehistoric
settlements in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall and will contribute to study of
the wider settlement pattern at this time.

AncientMonuments.uk is an independent online resource and is not associated with any government department. All government data published here
is used under licence. Please do not contact AncientMonuments.uk for any queries related to any individual ancient or schedued monument,
planning permission related to scheduled monuments or the scheduling process itself.